14 year-old Kenyan girl charged over fire that killed nine pupils

Relatives wait for news of relatives, at the entrance of Moi Girls Nairobi School September 2, 2017after a fatal pre-dawn blaze gutted one of the boarding facilities at the school leading to several deaths. Nine teenage girls died in a fire at a Nairobi school dormitory on September 2, 2017, and 10 others were injured, according to Kenya’s education minister. Police are trying to establish if the blaze is linked to a wave of school fires in 2016 when over 100 schools countrywide were hit by arsonists in a period of three months. / AFP PHOTO / TONY KARUMBA

A 14-year-old Kenyan girl was charged Wednesday with multiple counts of murder for allegedly starting a fire at a Nairobi school dormitory that left nine other schoolgirls dead.

According to a source inside the court, where proceedings were held in camera due to the age of the accused, the girl denied starting the fire on September 2 at the Moi Girls High School.

A source close to the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had discovered a WhatsApp messaging group on the suspect’s phone, in which she had mentioned her plans to burn down the school to four other friends.

“I will burn the school,” read one of the messages.

The girl appeared to be angry that her parents had sent her to Moi Girls, instead of her preferred high school.

The bodies of the girls who died in the blaze were burnt beyond recognition and were only identified through DNA analysis which was completed on Tuesday.